Day 13 of Advent: living mystery

Last updated on: December 11, 2015 at 8:21 am by Kaitlin B. Curtice

Day 13 of Advent: living mystery 2015-12-11T08:21:00-04:00 Kaitlin B. Curtice

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Living without mystery means knowing nothing of the mystery of your own life, nothing of the mystery of another person, nothing of the mystery of the world; it means passing over our own hidden qualities and those of others in the world.” –Bonhoeffer

American Christmas traditions reek of busy movement and to-do lists and discount shopping, and suddenly it’s January and the season of hopeful expectation really only made us more exhausted.

Bonhoeffer wrote letters to his loved ones at Christmas time while he sat in a prison cell.

He did not participate in the traditions or eat the Christmas cookies, exchange presents or sing carols with his dearest friends.

All of Christmas was in his mind and in his heart, the mystery held strong in his darkest hours.

All these years later, we still have something to learn from this man, don’t we?

The other night, we drove around our town and looked for Christmas lights.

We saw a tree on a little lake, lit up with twinkling white and blue lights, reflected perfectly in the water it stood on.

We saw reindeer and snowmen and a Santa or two.

We saw green wreaths hanging from front doors.

Eliot stopped talking for a minute and said,

“Merry Christmas, Mommy. Merry Christmas, Daddy.”

In that magical quiet, the Mystery came to him.

He got it.

He knew there, as only a toddler knows, his place in the story, his joy in being a part of Emmanuel, God With Us.

tree

May we quiet down enough to know the Mystery.

May we cherish this season enough to not miss it completely.

May we become a little less American, and a little more human this Christmas.

Hallelujah and Amen.

Previous Post

December 10, 2015

Advent, Day 12: the good tension

Next Post

December 12, 2015 Advent, Day 14: a prayer against time

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent 2016 Adventure Community & One Another Contemplation Lent 2016 Lessons Motherhood Native American Heritage Month 2017 Native American Spirituality Politics & Social Justice Prayer Remembrance Seven Gratitudes Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 August 2013 March 2013 February 2013 November 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz